£9.5M Social Emotional Mental Health School being built at Brockworth receives heartfelt messages from builders

Builders E G Carter & Co Ltd joined representatives from Gloucestershire County Council, Learn@ Multi-Academy Trust and Warwick-based Robotham Architects to pen a message onto the steel frame of the new £9.5 million Social Emotional Mental Health School it's building in Brockworth.

The event gave a chance for each of the client and design team to write a heartfelt message that will sit on the roof of the new steel frame forever.

Sam Carter, Director at E G Carter & Co Ltd said “We are delighted to be able to celebrate this significant milestone at Brockworth SEMH. To see the steel frame erected is very exciting, as we can all now see the building start to take shape. This event is a great way to acknowledge this phase of the project.”

The new school on Mill Lane is due to open in September 2022 and will have the capacity to cater for up to 80 children aged 11 to 16 from across the county. The school will mainly cater for children with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs, but will also support children with autism and speech, language and communication needs. The building is designed to include a variety of enhanced environmental measures, including solar panels on the roof of the school.

Cllr Philip Robinson, Cabinet member for economy, education and skills at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “It was a privilege to be able to leave my own personal mark on this new school.

“The new school will create much-needed special school spaces for children in Gloucestershire, and allow them to have the high-quality of education they deserve, in a way that is suited to their needs, and closer to home.”

Learn@ Multi-Academy Trust is a well-established partnership of Special Schools and Alternative Provisions across the South West of England.

The Learn@ MAT group of Academies provide a range of accessible centres of excellence for teaching and supporting the development of young people identified with ‘Social and Emotional Mental Health’ and/or 'Communication Needs’ (including ASC).

Most of its young people have full Education Health Care Plans or are on re-integration programmes aimed at successfully returning them to mainstream schooling. Its windscreen of provision starts from early intervention through mainstream training and revolving door places to special school day and residential places. It offers short-break accommodation for up to 4 evenings a term  in its modern LoDGE facility and full-time residential placements, Monday to Friday, term-time only, at its provision in the Wiltshire countryside at Notton.

The new school on Mill Lane in Brockworth is due to open in September 2022 and will have 75 spaces for children aged 11 to 16.

The school will mainly cater for children with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs, but will also support children with autism and speech, language and communication needs.

The building is designed to include a variety of enhanced environmental measures, including solar panels on the roof of the school.

Peter Evans, chief executive officer at Learn@ Multi-Academy Trust, said: “All children and young people deserve to be educated near to where they live.

“The start of construction work at our new academy will bring more specialist school places closer to Gloucestershire families and we’ll continue to work closely with all our partners to have everything ready for next September.”

Social and emotional skills are the skills that help children and young people develop their resilience and manage their thoughts, feelings and behaviour.

They are important life skills that support pupils’ ability to cope with and negotiate their way through difficult situations, as well as build positive relationships with their peers and adults.

These skills can improve academic attainment and enhance pupils’ motivation, as well as promote wellbeing and help prevent mental health difficulties from developing.

Schools can play a pivotal role in building the strong emotional foundations that all of us need in order to thrive and be mentally healthy.